DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley is being tipped for elevation to Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council. Thus, in Westminster parlance, Dr Paisley would have the right to be called "the right honourable member" for Antrim North, 35 years after his parliamentary career began there in relative isolation.
And it is expected that Mrs Eileen Paisley will be getting a seat in the House of Lords.
The Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of monarchy, when it comprised those appointed to advise the king or queen on matters of state. Its business today is conducted by ministers, while the notion of the Privy Council as a secretive body is maintained by the oath requiring members to "keep secret all matters. . . treated of in council".
Dr Paisley has visibly enjoyed his new role at Westminster since becoming leader of the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, and of the fourth largest party in the Commons.
And he has recalled with some relish the "pariah" status which attended his initial arrival there in 1970. Now senior colleagues suggest it is only a matter of time before the Westminster establishment clasps its newest member to its bosom.